2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
Light always dispels darkness – nothing will be hidden says Jesus. I have a feeling this is going to step on my toes today! The apostle John tells us:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.
John 1:1-9 (NIV)
Jesus came to take away our darkness by shining His light on our dark sides. Sadly, many of us want to remain wallowing in that darkness preferring our pathetic evil ways over the freeing abundant life that Christ holds out for us all. John later records Jesus stating:
19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:19-21 (NIV)
“No one overcomes the corruptions of his heart except by the enabling strength of the Spirit of God.” Jerry Bridges
Man does not love darkness for darkness sake but because it hides his deeds – deeds that he fondles and loves. I love the way C.S. Lewis states this point after examining his own heart and discovering what he found:
“A zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears and a harem of fondled hatreds.”
How easy for believers to have “little” hidden sins! “Little foxes in the vineyard” that destroy the crop! What do we have hidden in the dark? What actions do we not want disclosed? We must be done with this believer for our own good! When we remain holding onto whatever darkness we are grasping we can be confident that our growth in Christ will be stymied and that our relationship with Him will be broken. He never moves from us – we move from Him. As the Holy Spirit convicts us by pointing to areas in our lives that need to go, we are such the losers if we do not heed. He does not move on to other areas until we deal with the light He has already revealed. I have lived that in my own life, anybody else out there that proves this point too? Every time I would pick up the Word of God that same sin would come flashing through. Bringing it back to my mind that it had to go! My reluctances surely stymied my growth during that period. It was as if I did not want Him to mess with my mess! When all the while He was saying, “Getting rid of this will make you better!” Finally when my grasp released my growth and joy in Him grew exponentially. You simply cannot out give God.
“Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice; everything is lost by failure to obey God’s call.” Henry Parry Liddon
I love what the Psalmist Asaph states:
10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. Psalms 81:10 (NIV)
Whenever Scripture speaks of bringing us out of Egypt it is referring to bringing us out of bondage – out of sin and slavery. Through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit we do not have to remain wallowing in depravity. We have been given the power to live above the muck and the mire and the dirt that Satan is perfectly content for us to stay in. If Satan cannot keep us from being saved, his goal is to keep us from being used. How pitiful for us to let him win. God has great plans for each one of us as the well known verses in Jeremiah state:
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity.[ Jer 29:10-14 (NIV)
“In Christ we can move out of our past into a meaningful present and a breathtaking future.” Erwin Lutzer